Contra Costa Landlords Urged To Control Secondhand Smoke

RICHMOND (KCBS) – Multi-unit housing owners in unincorporated Contra Costa County are bound by law to protect tenants from secondhand smoke, but the county’s tobacco watchdog claims many landlords apparently have not gotten the message.

KCBS’ Dave Padilla Reports:

”Around 60 percent of the complaints we receive in our office about second-hand smoke are from people who are complaining about it drifting into their apartments,” said Denice Dennis, the county’s Tobacco Prevention Project Manager.

The agency has created a so-called “Landlord Tool Kit” to help owners meet new regulations on expanded secondhand smoke protections.

”We really want the owners to be able to post signage, because we know that once you have signage up the owners are able to point to it, and it will be self-enforcing,” said Dennis.

She said that smoking is prohibited in all new multi-unit apartments or condos, and you can’t light on balconies, decks, patios and carports of new and existing units.

If you really want landlords to protect people- to police people in their homes- you can’t just pass a law to pretend that you’ve done something, then pass the blame to landlords when it doesn’t work.

You can post as many signs as you want, it’s not self-enforcing. You have to be able to penalize those who violate the law/lease. To evict someone on a 3-day notice can take several months. Courts are also extremely sympathetic to tenants, regardless of the tenant’s behavior. You want landlords to be able to do something, fix that.

I recently quit smoking on my own! felt it was time, but I was the only smoker in our building ,for a very long time, my neighbors were very patient with me, even when I lit up every day, I now know that I was not bieng neighborly by just steping out side never the less I have apoligied to every body! in building. I know but only thing I could do.

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